


Welcome to Redcliffe University!

by mnemosius



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, I have no idea how to write professor Duncan but I'm sure as hell going to try, M/M, Pre-Slash, for now, the templars are still dicks in this world you can't stop me, there might actually be a plot to this beyond romance eventually too!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mnemosius/pseuds/mnemosius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair hadn't planned for a lot of his life to turn out the way it did, but he knew one thing - he was going to Redcliffe University, and he was going to make something of himself. </p><p>He just has to survive having his crush, Cullen, who's not only unfairly attractive, but also his roommate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome to Redcliffe University!

Alistair stopped in front of the statue and took a steadying breath. “I can do this,” he reminded himself. “I’ve been through worse, right? The Templar camp was awful; there’s no way this can be as bad as that.”

The statue, displaying a stern-looking King Calenhad, founder of Redcliffe University (and also most of Ferelden, but whatever), didn’t look impressed. Alistair shot it a sour look. “Yes, well, no one asked you.”

For what felt like the tenth time, Alistair went through the little checklist in his mind. Suitcase? Check. Backpack? Check. Little key the bursar had given him? Check. He was doing this. Little orphan Alistair was going to college, and no one could stop him. He could leave his past quite happily behind him, and actually make something out of himself. The only thing he had to worry about now was meeting his roommate. He took another breath, and headed for the dorm.

Wow. There were a lot of people milling about in the halls. Alistair pasted an uneasy smile on his face, and prayed there wasn’t anything too wrong with his outfit. Was the mabari-themed hoodie too much? Did he have cheese stains somewhere he didn’t know about? If the disdainful look that raven-haired girl with terrifying eyeliner was giving him was anything to go on, he probably did. He brightened a bit when a red-haired girl playing the guitar on one of the common-room sofas gave him a friendly wave, though. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. Then he felt a hand brush his ass and turned bright red when someone whistled appreciatively. 

“Well now,” the boy purred as he sauntered over into Alistair’s line of sight. “If I’d known Redcliffe University would have so many attractions, I would have decided to come here so much earlier.” Alistair wasn’t sure to look. The boy had dark skin, silver hair, and he could see the dark lines of tattoos peeking out from his ridiculously tight shirt. He could feel his face getting redder by the second.

“Zevran, stop teasing the poor man,” the girl with the guitar called out. Alistair blinked at the unexpected accent, and managed a grateful smile as Zevran gave Alistair one last leer before backing away. “Sorry about him,” the girl said, her voice effortlessly melodic. “Zevran has no impulse control.”

“Not in the face of such firm beauty, at least,” Zevran said amiably, and Alistair flushed even more.

“I’m Leliana,” the girl said, ignoring Zevran’s comment. “I promise we’re not all as bad as he is.”

“My name’s Alistair,” he stammered. “I’m, um, looking for room 142?”

“You can read, can’t you?” the raven-haired girl by the window said, her voice bored. “I’d suggest looking at the signs on the walls before asking such foolish questions.” She didn’t even bother to look at Alistair as she spoke, just examined her painted-black nails idly. 

“Well, aren’t you a bundle of sunshine,” Alistair retorted before he could stop himself. “What crawled up your ass and died?” There was a sudden flash, and Alistair blinked as the girl tucked her phone back into her pocket. “Did you just take my picture?”

The girl’s answering smile showed far too many teeth. “I like my dolls to be as realistic-looking as possible.”

“Riiiight, very creepy,” Alistair managed, deciding that he’d never speak to her again. “I’ll just be going now.” He beat a hasty retreat out of the common room before she started talking about knives or something. 

“This is why you have no friends, Morrigan,” Alistair heard Leliana say chidingly behind him. “You actively try to scare everyone away.”

“I prefer it that way,” the other girl answered. “If stupidity like that is contagious, better to not risk it.” The conversation dissolved into familiar bickering after that, and Alistair decided that maybe college didn’t require actually knowing anyone on his floor after all. The hermit’s lifestyle could still be fun, right?

Alistair made his way further down the hall and eventually made it to the right door. He tried the handle and it was still locked, so he put in his key and twisted it before opening the door. There was a muffled noise on the other side, and then Alistair was greeted with an absolutely gorgeous vision of a nicely-toned abdomen with a trail of golden hair that he wanted to _lick _before the boy’s head popped out of his collar of his polo and he finished sliding the shirt on.__

__“Oh! Sweet Maker, sorry about that,” the boy said hastily, his pale skin fetchingly red. “Talk about making a good impression.”_ _

__“I’ll say,” Alistair said dumbly, too busy memorizing the other boy’s statuesque features and lustrous golden hair. He blinked. “Wait, what?”_ _

__The other boy seemed, if anything, to be getting even redder. “Cullen,” he blurted suddenly, thrusting out a hand. “Seeing as you have a key, I’m guessing you’re my roommate.”_ _

__Alistair was pretty sure the room was like a thousand degrees hotter than it should’ve been. He swiped his hand against his jeans to get rid of the sudden sweat and shook Cullen’s hand. “I’m Alistair,” he managed. “It’s, um. Nice to meet you?” His voice trailed up at the end, making that last bit sound more like a question than anything else._ _

__Cullen huffed out a little laugh, and Alistair fell just a little bit in love before he stamped _that _mistake of an emotion out quickly. “Well, I hope so,” Cullen said, grinning shyly. “So. Need any help unpacking?”___ _

____Alistair glanced down at the one battered suitcase he’d brought with him, and the three or so he could see already stuffed underneath the bed Cullen had claimed. “I think I’ve got it,” he said. “Thanks, though.”_ _ _ _

____Cullen shrugged. “Sure.” He went back to rummaging in one of the drawers, and Alistair noted with some disbelief that Cullen appeared to actually be organizing everything by color. Alistair just planned on keeping two piles; dirty, and clean. He dropped his backpack on the other bed, and started pulling clothes out of his suitcase, and made the split-second decision to at least stuff the clothes in the drawers on the first day, if only to make a good impression._ _ _ _

____Alistair worked in awkward silence for a couple minutes, until it got to be too much. “Soooo...,” he said hesitantly. “What are you studying at Redcliffe?”_ _ _ _

____There was a pause for a few seconds. “...Criminal Justice,” Cullen admitted, sounding like he was bracing himself for an insult or something. Alistair didn’t like the way the other boy’s shoulders hunched in one bit._ _ _ _

____“You mean like a cop?” Alistair asked, honestly curious, and maybe hoping to make Cullen relax a little. Y’know - just to be a good roommate, and all that. Definitely no ulterior motives._ _ _ _

____“Yeah,” Cullen said cautiously, glancing at Alistair with ridiculously golden eyes beneath lowered lashes._ _ _ _

____“Oh, that’s so cool!” Alistair said, grinning and launching himself onto his bed. He only winced a little bit at the resulting screech from the springs. He’d dealt with worse. “That’s so impressive. I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life at all yet.”_ _ _ _

____To Alistair’s relief, Cullen answered Alistair’s grin with one of his own. “You think so? I just - my dad was a cop, and he always said that helping keep people safe was the best thing he could do with his life. I want to do the same.” His shoulders straightened out a little as he said that, and Alistair could feel the earnest truth behind the words._ _ _ _

____“I never knew my dad,” Alistair said, shrugging. “It’s fine,” he said hastily, cutting Cullen off before he could stammer out an apology like everyone always did. “I don’t know what I’m missing, you know? But it does mean I don’t have any footsteps to follow in,” he added wryly. “Makes the whole planning out my future thing that much harder.”_ _ _ _

____Cullen gave Alistair a searching look, and Alistair did his best not to squirm. “I’m sure you’ll find something you love to do,” Cullen said finally, giving him another one of those unfairly adorable little half-smiles. “You don’t seem the sort who’ll settle for anything less.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Man, I hope so. Thanks.”_ _ _ _

____“Anytime.” Alistair’s stomach took the opportunity to growl loudly, and both boys jumped at the noise. Cullen grinned. “You, uh, hungry?”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, you have no idea,” Alistair groaned, visions of pizza and root beer dancing in front of his eyes. “Want to go check out the dining hall with me?” He wasn’t supposed to meet with his advisor, Professor Duncan, for another hour, after all._ _ _ _

____“Sure,” Cullen agreed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “I could use a coffee, actually. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair grinned knowingly. “Yeah, I didn’t either. Something about a giant life transition just keeps me up at night, you know?”_ _ _ _

____“Exactly,” Cullen said. He frowned. “I hope the coffee isn’t too awful. I heard one of our dorm-mates complaining about the food a little while ago. I think his name was Zevran?”_ _ _ _

____“Really? Has he felt up your ass too?” Alistair almost wouldn’t have been able to blame him. From what he’d already seen, Cullen’s body was a work of art._ _ _ _

____“What?” Cullen said, startled. “Did he really?” His eyes strayed downward for a moment, and then fixed determinedly back on Alistair’s face. The cute little flush was back in full-force, and Alistair had trouble suppressing a grin._ _ _ _

____“Yep. Mind if we avoid the common room, actually? I’ve decided it might be safer to avoid talking to some of our new neighbors, at least for now.”_ _ _ _

____Cullen glanced down at his own ass worriedly. “In the interest of not getting felt up, agreed.”_ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____Once they’d gotten some food (the pizza was good, and the coffee, if Cullen’s expression was anything to go on, regrettably, was not), Alistair and Cullen went their separate ways._ _ _ _

____“I’ve got to go meet with my adviser,” Alistair said, glancing in the direction of the main campus. “To, uh, ‘help me find some direction,’ or something like that. I’ll see you back in the room later, I guess?”_ _ _ _

____Cullen gave him a little wave. “Hope so,” he said, smiling. “Good luck.” He headed back to the dorm, leaving Alistair alone to face the rest of campus._ _ _ _

____“Right then,” Alistair mumbled. “Let’s get this over with.”_ _ _ _

____Professor Duncan, as it turned out, was a middle-aged man with bronzed skin, a well-trimmed black beard and a ponytail shot through with streaks of gray that only managed to make him look more distinguished. He stood up from his desk and shook Alistair’s hand firmly._ _ _ _

____“So you’re Alistair,” Duncan said appraisingly. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”_ _ _ _

____“Thanks?” Alistair said, wrinkling his brow. If that was really true, that was a first. “Thanks for helping me out.”_ _ _ _

____“It’s no trouble,” Duncan said, still looking at him. “It’s my job to make sure incoming freshmen like yourself settle in properly. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I have a few questions for you. Please, take a seat.” He pointed to a fancy-looking wooden chair on Alistair’s side of the desk._ _ _ _

____“Sure.”_ _ _ _

____“Good. Now,” Duncan said, sitting down and steepling his fingers, “The first question I’d like to ask is if you have any preferences for what you’d like to learn here at Redcliffe University. If there are any particular career tracks you’d like to pursue, I can use that to narrow down the field.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh. Well, sorry to not be of any help, but I don’t have anything,” Alistair said, shrugging. “Just getting here was my only goal before this. Now that I’ve actually arrived, I don’t really know what I’d like to do next.”_ _ _ _

____Duncan gave him another assessing look. “Yes, you’ve had quite the journey, haven’t you. Not many people manage to get out of the Templar Academy track, let alone without help from family. If you don’t mind a brief tangent, I’d be quite interested to hear how you managed it.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair thought back to that particular bout of shouting and the icy feeling of disgust he’d felt rolling off the commander after he’d been caught. “Yes, well,” he said uneasily, “it turned out I wasn’t as good a fit for them as they thought.”_ _ _ _

____“Apparently so,” Duncan said. He paused, and then pulled a sheet of paper out from a drawer in his desk. “Do you know what this is?”_ _ _ _

____Alistair felt something settle into the pit of his stomach at the sight of the Templar seal at the top of the paper. “No, but I’m guessing it’s not anything good.”_ _ _ _

____“It’s a letter from the Knight-Commander,” Duncan said as calmly as if he was just discussing the weather. “Strongly recommending that we do not accept your application, or have anything to do with you whatsoever. I imagine other universities received similar letters.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair gritted his teeth. Of course they’d done that. The Templars were never satisfied until anyone who opposed them had been ground into dust. He looked Duncan squarely in the eyes. “Then why am I even here? The Templars have a lot of sway. Why fight them just for me?”_ _ _ _

____Duncan settled back in his chair, matching Alistair’s gaze without the slightest hesitation. “Because I believe that you are meant for more than that,” he said firmly. “More than the Templars could ever have made of you. Moreover, Redcliffe University takes orders from no man save the king, and as much sway as the Templars may have, it is not so much as that.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair wasn’t sure what to say to that. He wanted to call bullshit, but it felt like Duncan’s presence was pinning him to his chair. Alistair didn’t see a hint of a lie in Duncan’s eyes, and he’d gotten plenty of practice in looking. So instead he looked away and ducked his head. “Why?” he asked again, voice barely more than a whisper. “Why would you believe I’m meant for more?”_ _ _ _

____He heard Duncan sigh. “For reasons I hope you will one day truly understand,” Duncan said finally. “For now, however, let it suffice that Redcliffe University believes that every potential student deserves the chance to be the best they can, and you, Alistair, are no exception.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. “Okay,” he said, trying to regain his composure. “Right. So. Next question?”_ _ _ _

____Duncan glanced at him, and then looked back down at his list. “The next question is actually more of a statement. As you know, you were selected to receive the Theirin Scholarship, a test program Redcliffe University is running this year. Your tuition fees are completely covered, as well as room and board. Textbook fees and and other activities that may require money, however, are not covered. Do you have a source of income you can rely on?” Alistair shook his head. He barely had a week’s worth of clothes in his suitcase; the only reason he’d considered Redcliffe at all was because of the scholarship. “Very well. With your permission, I’d like to put you down for a work study program. We’ll give you an on-campus job that requires a few hours a week to help counterbalance your costs.”_ _ _ _

____“I… yeah,” Alistair said, thinking about the battered $20 bill he had to his name and a laptop that was two years past being on its last legs. “That sounds like a good plan.”_ _ _ _

____“Excellent. Now, last question. Would you be willing to take a series of aptitude tests to determine what skills you might be best suited to?” Duncan glanced down at his sheet again. “That you passed the Templar training indications an ability to succeed at certain professions, but their academic preparations are rather lacking in other areas. Unless you wish to pursue careers that entail a certain level of risk, it would be wise to seek other options as well.”_ _ _ _

____“I can do that,” Alistair replied, thinking about Cullen and his goal of becoming a cop. Alistair respected that - he really did - but he didn’t want that for himself. He’d seen enough of fighting already. “What would I have to do?”  
Duncan scribbled something down on the paper. “I’ll have the surveys emailed to you. If you could complete them within the next week during Orientation, I’ll be able to work with you to determine a schedule best suited to your needs.” Duncan stood up suddenly, and Alistair did as well out of habit. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Alistair. I hope to see you again soon.”_ _ _ _

____“Thanks, Professor,” Alistair said honestly. “For… everything.” He had a suspicion that Duncan had been more involved than he let on, but decided not to say anything._ _ _ _

____“You’re welcome,” Duncan said, his expression softening. “And please, just call me Duncan. Professor is a title for my classroom.”_ _ _ _

____“Duncan, then,” Alistair agreed. “I’ll um. How do I know when to come back here?”_ _ _ _

____“I’ll send you an email a day in advance,” Duncan said, already sitting back down. “Don’t worry.”_ _ _ _

____***_ _ _ _

____“Hey, are you alright?” Alistair blinked, and then turned over to see Cullen looking at him with a worried expression from where he sat at his desk. “You’ve, uh, kind of been staring at the wall for like five minutes now,” Cullen added._ _ _ _

____“What? Oh, sorry,” Alistair said awkwardly. “Just… thinking about stuff. There’s a lot of that, going on right now.”_ _ _ _

____Cullen gave an amused little huff. “Believe me, I get it.” He ran a hand through his hair, tangling the soft strands for an instant. “If it helps, I’m pretty sure everyone’s in the same boat right now.” He gave Alistair a hopeful glance. “At least we have Orientation to help figure things out.”_ _ _ _

____“I’m going to need it,” Alistair said ruefully. He still wasn’t sure where the bookstore was located, exactly, or how he was going to buy anything when he had neither a card nor any real cash to his name. He glanced at the alarm clock Cullen had placed on the shelf by the corner of his bed. Was it really almost midnight already? He glanced at Cullen, who was starting to look suspiciously bleary-eyed, now that Alistair was actually paying attention. “What time would you like the lights out, by the way? I’m pretty ready for this day to end.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, thank the Maker,” Cullen said with a relieved sigh. He yawned and stretched, and Alistair gulped at the way Cullen’s polo rucked up at the bottom slightly. “I was about to call it quits, but this means you get the guilt instead.” He grinned slyly, and Alistair sternly reminded himself that yes, crushing on his roommate was about the worst idea ever. Then Cullen promptly stripped off his shirt and jeans, and Alistair’s brain decided that maybe thinking was overrated after all._ _ _ _

____That, and apparently not everyone wore boxers to bed after all. Cullen, for example, was apparently a boxer-briefs kind of boy, and, um, sizable. Alistair barely managed to tear his eyes away in time to see Cullen turn bright red._ _ _ _

____“I, um, prefer to sleep like this,” Cullen mumbled, turning slightly away from him. It didn’t help - his ass was now perfectly outlined beneath the thin black cotton, and oh, Alistair was going to a special sort of hell for this, he really was. “If that’s alright, I mean?”_ _ _ _

____Alistair blinked. “What? Oh, it’s, um, fine. No objections here. Really.” He prayed his voice wasn’t actually as squeaky as it sounded to him just then._ _ _ _

____“Right,” Cullen said, still not meeting his eyes. “I’ll just… hit the lights, then. Good night, Alistair.”_ _ _ _

____Alistair lay back down on his bed and closed his eyes. He’d take off the rest of his clothes later, definitely. Maybe when his reaction to those damned briefs wasn’t quite so obvious. “G’night, Cullen.”_ _ _ _

____Well. This was certainly going to be an interesting year._ _ _ _


End file.
